Preparation and properties of biodegradable hydrogels from poly(2-hydroxyethyl aspartamide) and HMDI

Biodegradable polymers and hydrogels have been increasingly applied in a variety of biomedical applications including current drug delivery system and tissue engineering field. α,βPoly(N-2-hydroxyethyl-DL-aspartamide), PHEA, is one of poly(amino acids) with hydroxyethyl pendants, which is known to be biodegradable and potentially biocompatible. So that, the utilization and various chemical modifications of PHEA have been attempted for useful biomedical applications. In this work, chemical gels based on PHEA were prepared by crosslinking with diisocyanate compound in DMF in the presence of catalyst. Here, the PHEA was prepared from polysuccinimde, the thermal polycondensation product of aspartic acid, via ring-opening reaction with ethanolamine. The preparation of gels and their swelling behavior, depending on the different medium and pH, were investigated. Also the morphology by SEM and simple hydrolytic degradation were observed.